Anetha Brady

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am a full-time, out-of-home, working mother with two daughters, aged 4 and 1, that I raise with my husband, Dan. Being a mom is the best thing I have ever done with my life.

I work at a tech start up, UpStack.com, where I am the SVP of Growth. I love my job, but the long hours and long commute force me to make trade-offs on a daily basis.

What 3 words best describe your parenting experience to date?

Stressful, Magical, Worthwhile

What’s one of the hardest or most surprising things about being a parent that people wouldn’t expect or don’t usually talk about?

The double standards/expectations that apply to women (vs. men) when it comes to parenting. Women need to be SuperMom, juggling a million things while hanging by a thread and we are still harshly judged for each choice. Men get massive praise for just showing up.

Most days I feel like I have 3 jobs:

My day job at UpStack

My night job of cleaning, organizing and making sure the house isn’t a dump

My invisible job of having to remember everything about everyone, ALL. THE. TIME.

Any Other Human in My House: Where are my shoes?

Me: How the f*ck should I know? Where did you last seen them?

Other: I left them right there when I got home (points at middle of the floor)

Me: So you left them in the middle of the floor where someone could trip over them?

Other: Yeah. So where are they?

Me: Ugh. The shoe rack. (SMH)

And repeat this 10x a day.

I am pretty sure we would be homeless cause our mortgage wouldn’t be paid, no one would ever be wished a happy birthday, or be able to find all those things in plain sight if I wasn’t a human calendar, lol.

What were some of your “wait...is this normal??” moments once you became a parent?

Literally everyday my toddler argues with me, and I think “This is like arguing with a smaller, less logical version of myself. I wonder if everyone else does this?” This thought is often followed by “OMG if you were an adult, I would have smacked you across the face by now!”

What’s one of your favorite parenting hacks that helps keep you sane (that other parents should know about and start doing ASAP)?